Electric-controller device.



J. P. MILLER & W. V. TURNER.

ELECTRIC CONTROLLER DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED APR.6,1911.

Elllm," 12H-1 Ill w v u "ff Z3 18 WITNESSES INVENTORS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN F. MILLER ANI) WALTER V. TURNEROF EDGE-WOOD, PENNSYLVANIA.

ELECTRIC-CONTROLLER DEVICE.

5 the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Electric-Controller Devices, of which the following is a speciication.

This invention relates to controlling devices, and more particularly to a hand operated controller such as employed for controlling the motors of electric cars.

' In t-he operation of hand operated controllers, the motorman sometimes turns the controller handle too rapidly, thus causing an excessive How of'current to the motors which wastes energy and is a source of possible injury to the a paratus. In order to prevent this too rapid movement of the controller handle by the motorman, it has heretofore been proposed to provide means for limiting the speed at whichv the handle may be turned..

The principal object of our invention is to provide improved means controlled by the movement of the operating handle for limit-` ing the movement of the controller to a predetermined rate of speed.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a hand operated motor controller with our improvement applied thereto; Fig. 2 a section on line a-a of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 a plan View ofthe controlling valve seat; Fig. 4 a side elevation of a modified form of our invention; Fig. 5 a plan view thereof; Fig. 6 a plan view of the controlling valve seat for the construction shown in Fig. 4; and Fig. 7 a face View of the controlling valve therefor.

According to the construction shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing, a ratchet wheel 1 is secured to the operating shaft 2 of a motor controller 3 and a pawl arm 4 having pawls 5 and 6 is pivotally mounted on a pin 7 adjacent to the ratchet wheel 1, so that the pawls 5 and 6 may engage with the teeth 8 of the ratchet wheel.

Operatively connected to the pawl arm 4 is a rod 9 secured to a piston 10 which is contained in 'a suitable cylinder 11. The

piston 10 is subject on one side to the pressure of a coil spring 12 and a pipe 18 leads from the chamber at the opposite side of 5 said piston to a port 14 in the valve seat of a controlling valve device 15.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 6, 1911.

Patented Sept. 24, 1912.

Serial No. 619,382.

` The controlling valve device 15 is provided with a rotary valve 16 adapted to be secured to the controller shaft 2, and the chamber 17 above the rotary valve is connected by a pipe 18 to a source of fluid under pressure.

The rotary valve 16, as shown in Fig. 7, is provided with a series of port openings 19, corresponding'in number with the number of teeth 8 in the ratchet wheel and each adapted upon movement of the rotary valve to register with they port 14- in the rotary valve seat. The port openings 19 are each connected by a cavity 2O in the valve with a central port opening 21. Alternating with the port openings 19 are through ports 22 also adapted toiregister with the port 14 upon rotation of the valve 16. When the rotary valve 16 is in po-sition on its seat the central port opening 21 constantly registers with a port 23 in the seat'which is open to the atmosphere.

The number of teeth 8 in the ratchet Iwheel 1 is made equal to one half the number of positio'ns of the motor controller, for example, if the controller has twelve positions, then the ratchet wheel should have six teeth.

The relation of ports in the controlling valve is such that when the pawl'6 engages one of the teeth 8, the port 14' is connected to the atmosphere through ports 19, 21, .and 23, and when pawl 5 is in engagement with one of the teeth 8, the port 14 registers with one of the through ports 22. y, Y

In operation, assuming that in the' starting 'or off position of the controller, one of the through ports 22 is in register with the port- 14, so that fluid is supplied to the piston 10 and thereby the paw-l 6 is pressed against the ratchet wheel 1 while the pawl 5 is away from the wheel, then the handle 24 may be freely rotated from the startingposition until one of the teeth 8 comes into engagement with the pawl 6. This positively loc-ks the controlleragainst further movement, but at the same time, one of the exhaust ports 19 registers with port 14, so that fluid is free to exhaust `from the piston 10.

Upon a sufficient release of fluid from said piston, the spring 12 operates the piston` to withdraw the pawl 6 from engagement with tooth 8 and throw the pawl 5 against the ratchet wheel. AIt will now be evident that the controller handle may again be freely rotateduntil the neXt succeeding tooth 8 comes into engagement with the paeWl 5, and

then the controller is again temporarily locked against movement. When the paWl 5 engages a tooth 8, la through port 22 registers with port 14, so that fluid is admitted tothe piston- 10 and thereby the aWl 5 is disengaged fro-m the vtooth 8 While the pawl 6 is forced against the ratchet Wheel 1. In this manner, the co-ntrollerhandle may be intermittently operated through its several positions,the controller being temporarily locked against movement first by one pavvl and then by the other pavvl engaging one of the teeth 8.

The time in Which a pawl remains in po- ,sition against a tooth 8 may be varied as The rotary valve of the controlling valve device may be the, same as that employed vin `the construction shown in Fig. 1, but the rotary valve seat is provided with two ports 29 and 30, so arranged that when one port registers with an exhaust opening 19 of the rotary valve 16, the other port registers with one of the through ports 22.

Leading from ports 29 and 30 are pipes 31 and 32 which communicate respectively with the air cylinders 25 and 26.. In the starting position, the port 29 may register with an exhaust port 19 of the rotary valve, so that the. piston in cylinder 25 holds the pawl 27 out of engagement with the ratchet wheel 1, and in the same position, port 30 registers with one of the through ports 22 of the rot-ary valve, so that iuid under pressure is supplied to the piston in cylinder 26 and thereby the p avvl 28 is pressed against the ratchet wheel 1. Upon movement of the controller handle 24, the ratchet Wheel may be rotated until an adjacent tooth 8 of the ratchet Wheel engages the pawl 28, then the wheel and the controller shaft are locked against further movement. In positions in which the pawl 28 engages a tooth 8, the port 8O registers with an exhaust port 19, so thatv fluid is released from cylinder 26 and the piston therein withdraws the vpawl 28 from engagement with the tooth 8. In the same position, a through port 22 registers with port 29, so that fluid is admitted to cylinder 25 and the paWl 27 is pressed noaaivo against the ratchet Wheel 41. The ratchet Wheel and the controller shaft may now be rotated until'the pavvl27 engages the adja cent tooth 8 and then the controller is again temporarily locked against movement.

It will now be evident that the controller handle may be rotated step .by-step, andv that the movement thereof istemporarily checked in each p'osition'of the controller,

connected up in'various Ways to be operated by the controller shaft, such as may occur to the .skilled mechanic.

Our improvement may of course be em ployed in connection with hand operated controlling devices used for other purposes, where it is desired to prevent the too rapid movement of the operating handle.

It will be noted that if a Huid pressure brake system is employed as the source of pressure, an additional safety feature ;is secured in that it is necessary for the pressure in the brake system to build up to a degree slightly exceeding the pressure of the spring 12 before the piston 10 can be shifted and consequently the controller cannot be manipulated and the car started until a certain degree of fluid pressure is built up in the brake system.

Having now described 'our invention, what We claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is: f l

1. A controller provided with a handle, a device operated by fluid pressure for locking said handle against movement, and means operated by the movement of the handle for controlling the uid pressure for operating said locking device.

42. A controller provided With a shaft and a handle for operating said shaft, a mechanism operated by liuid pressure for locking said shaft in its operating positions, and a valve device operated by the movement of the shaft for controlling the supply of fluid pressure for operating said mechanism.

3. A controller provided with a shaft and a handle for operating said shaft, a ratchet wheel adapted to be operated by said shaft, a pawl for engaging said ratchet Wheel, a piston forA operating said pawl, and valve means operated by the movement of the controller shaft for supplying and releasing iiuid to and from said piston.

4. A controller provided with a shaft and a handle for operating said shaft, a ratchet srzured to said shaft and provided with teeth, pavvls adapted to alternately engage a tooth'of the ratchet Wheel upon rotation of the shaft, means operated by fluid under aol pressure for actuating said ment of the controller shaft for Supplying' and releasing fluid to and from said means, to alternately operate vsaid pawls. Y

5. A controller provided with a shaft and a handle for operating said shaft, a member secured to said shaft and provided with teeth, two pawls, one or the other of which is adapted to be in position for engaging a tooth on said member upon rotation of the shaft, fluidv pressure operated means for actuating said pawls, and a valve operated by movement of said shaft for supplying iiuid to the pawl actuating means. 1

6. A controller provided with a shaft and a handle for operating'said shaft, a mem- I, ber secured to said shaft and provided With teeth, two pawls, one or the other of which is adapted to be in` position for engaging a tooth on said member upon rotation of the shaft, apiston subject on one side to the pressure of a spring tending to move one pawl into position for engaging a tooth, and valve means operated by the movement of said shaft for supplying fluid to the opposite side of said piston to movey the other lpawl into position for engaging a tooth of said member.

7. A controller provided with a shaft and a handle. for voperating said shaft, a ratchet Wheel-secured to said shaft and provided with teeth, an arm carrying two pawls, a spring, a piston operated by said spring for actuating said arm to Vmove one pawl into position for engaging a ratchet tooth, and valve means operated by the movement of said shaft for supplying fluid to said piston for actuating said arm to move the other pawl into position for engaging a ratchet tooth.

8. A controller provided With a shaft and a handle for operating said shaft, a ratchet wheel secured to said shaft, a pivoted arm provided with two paWls and having one position in which one pawl engages the ratchet Wheel and another position 1n Which the other pawl engages the ratchet wheel, a spring, a piston operated by said spring for moving'4 one pawl into its operating position, and means operated,

by the movement lof -the controller handle for supplying Huid to said piston for moving the other pawl into its., operating position.

9. A controller provided wvith a shaft and a handle for operating said shfaft, a ratchet Wheel secured to said shaft, pivoted arm provided With tWo pawls and having one position in which. one pafvl engages the ratchet Wheel and; another position kin which the other pavl engages the ratchet Wheel, 'a spring, a piston operated by' said spring for moving one paWl into its operating position, and a valve operated by the movement of the controller handle and having ports for alternately supplying and releasingluid to and from said piston.

l0. A controller provided With a shaft and a handle for operating said shaft, a ratchet Wheel secured to saidl shaft, a piv-4 oted arm provided With two pawls and having one position in Whichv one pawl engages the ratchet Wheel and another position in which the other pawl engages the ratchet Wheel, a spring, a piston operated by said spring for moving one pawl into its operating position, and a' valve operated by the movement ofthe controller handle and having ports adapted in the successive positions of the controller to alternately supply and release fluid to and from said piston.

In testimony whereof We have hereunto set our hands.

JOHN E. MILLER. WALTER v.` TURNER.

Witnesses:

S. W. KEEFER, A. M. CLEMENTS.

Copies o! this patent may be obtained for tlv-e'cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,v 

